1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of devices for the restraint of an animal accompanying a walker, a jogger or a stroller. More particularly, the invention relates to a restraining device that permits the walker or jogger to control a leashed animal while at the same time leaving that person's hands and arms free to swing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of devices used to restrain animals--dogs in particular--as a person is walking, the hand-held leash is by far the most commonly used. Unfortunately, such leashes are unsuitable for the person who wants to bring a pet along for a jog or "power-walk." One of the problems associated with the use of the standard leash while walking or jogging is that the person must hold the leash with one hand. At the other end of the leash the animal pulls against the restraint, thereby placing stress on the hand and arm holding the leash. This stress on the person is not symmetrical, is not located in close proximity to the person's center of gravity, and may cause an imbalance. A related problem involves the movement of the animal. In most cases the animal moves from side to side in front of its human companion. This movement of the animal not only compounds the aforementioned stress on the person's arm, it also upsets the rhythm of the walker/jogger and, in fact, makes arm-swing extremely difficult. Finally, conventional leashes may cause discomfort to the animal as well. Just as the movement of the animal places stress on the walker or jogger, the movement of the walker places stress on the animal; the person's arm swinging may jerk the animal's head back and in other ways interferes with the animal's stride.
Prior art devices which provide for hands-free restraint of an animate object leave unsolved many of the problems associated with animal restraint while a person is power-walking or jogging. Harwell (U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,860) discloses a retractable leash wherein one end of the leash is attached to the animal and the other end is attached to the belt of the person. The focus of that design is on the human's ability to quickly detach the leash from the belt. The leash is then free to retract into a housing located on the animal's collar. Although not the primary focus of Harwell, one benefit of this design is that it enables the animal's handler to have both hands free while controlling the animal. For this reason, the strain exerted by the animal as it pulls against the leash occurs nearer the person's center of gravity than would otherwise occur if the leash were held in the person's hand. Nevertheless, the Harwell design is still not conducive to animal control while the human is running. This is due primarily to its use of a single-point attachment of the leash to the person's belt. Single-point attachment is unsuitable while one is exercising because the force exerted on the person's body by a straining animal is not symmetrical. As a result, any sudden change in direction by the animal is much more likely to throw the person off balance. The patents issued to Birchmire III, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,362) and Smith (U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,624) also disclose hands-free restraining devices, although that is not their primary focus. Nevertheless, both devices comprise single-point contact of a leash or harness to the person's belt and would therefore be unsuitable for use by a jogger, a power-walker or a stroller.
Therefore, what is needed is an animal-restraining device that permits a person to control an animal while at the same time leaving that person's hands and arms free to swing as the person power-walks or jogs. Further, what is needed is an animal-restraining device that reduces the stress on the person caused by the movement of the animal, and at the same time reduces the stress on the animal caused by the movement of the person. Finally, what is needed is an animal-restraining device that provides for symmetrical loading of the stress exerted on the person by the animal such that the person will not be thrown off balance by sudden directional shifts made by the animal as it moves back and forth in front of the jogger, power-walker or stroller.